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“Chocolate is a flavor that everyone enjoys.
Consumers are following the emerging science around the benefits of the
cocoa bean and trying new and exciting flavors, especially those with high
cocoa content,” says Chicago-based Rich Benson, director of research
and development, Barry-Callebaut NA, Pennsauken, N. J.

Consumer interest in health benefits, origins and
taste profiles of different chocolates is reaching wine connoisseur status.
Culinary events are offering chocolate tastings complete with
“flights,” similar to wine tastings in their educational
efforts. “Dark chocolate can offer many of the same types of
antioxidant benefits that are found in red wine,” says Scott Johnson,
product development manager for Cargill Cocoa and Chocolate, Lititz, Pa.

“While some adults may revisit dark chocolate
as a result of the highly publicized antioxidant claims, they will continue
to purchase dark chocolate as their palates grow in sophistication,”
says Melissa Althen, director of R&D for Parker Products Inc., Fort
Worth, Texas. “There is an overall trend for more complex flavors and
more bang for the buck, and dark chocolate is more comparable to fine wine
in its multiple layers of flavor.”

Chocolate tastings tap into consumer interest in the
biggest niche growth area in cocoa and chocolate: specific certifications
and designations, from organic to Fair Trade to an origin-country specific
trend patterned after the coffee bean industry with Columbian, Venezuelan
and Madagascar chocolates with distinct taste profiles.

“These ‘special chocolates’ have
shown growth rates far exceeding the category. They also command a premium
price with the consumer and can move a brand to a different space,”
Benson says.

Meanwhile, consumers want to be left with a good taste
in their mouths when it comes to chocolate. Paralleling organic marketing
efforts is promotion of fair labor practices through groups like the World
Cocoa Foundation. The foundation promotes long-term sustainability and
quality of life for cocoa farmer through practical and cost-effective
methods such as farmer field schools, explains Rose Potts, the East
Greenville, Pa., facility-based sensory programs manager for Blommer
Chocolate Co., one of the foundation’s founding companies.

The organization is additionally considering creation
and implementation of an on-package World Cocoa Foundation seal comparable
to the fair trade seal. “The major cocoa and chocolate manufacturers
are being highly pressured to examine their social responsibilities,”
Althen says.

The country’s aging demographic is yet another
point in the chocolate column’s favor. Taste buds change and are lost
as a natural part of the aging process, and the threshold for tasting
bitterness rises, Potts explains. “That means that we can take more
intense products with high-intensity sensations — peppers, cinnamon
or more cocoa mass — than when we were younger,” she says.
“It’s all about the dark chocolates. People that have never
tried dark before are trying it now.”

Health Halo

A seemingly endless stream of chocolate-wellness link
studies are finding that the benefits of chocolate’s antioxidants may
include staving off pre-effects of Alzheimer’s disease, decreasing
risk of heart disease through reduction of high blood pressure and even
fighting cancer. “We’re not touting that cocoa or chocolate is
a magic elixir or the fountain of youth,” Potts says. “But our
environment and diets chip away at our wellness every day; so it’s
nice to have a choice of something that you can take to build yourself
up.”

For instance, while potential benefits to HDLs are not
yet on the product claim spectrum, the steric acid component of
chocolate’s saturated fat actually has a neutral effect on
cholesterol, and may even raise good HDL levels to improve lipid balance.
Industry insiders are working to create best practices for consumer
education efforts, with potential for nutrition label annotation, Potts
notes.

Health-halo carryover from the confectionary category
for dark chocolate has lagged somewhat in the dairy category. The hold-up
is creating suitable formulations for antioxidant effectiveness combined
with sourcing and pricing challenges.

“It’s a matter of selecting the
appropriate cocoa versus the appropriate process and then optimizing what
cocoa works best,” says Marie Cummings, manager of food applications
and product development at Philadelphia-based David Michael & Co. She
notes that dairy formulation with chocolate requires assessment of dairy
fat levels, sweetener types and required amount cocoa for the desired
flavor profile.

“It’s difficult to get real large
quantities of those kinds of ingredients in chocolate milk or ice cream,
plus it’s a cost factor,” says Rick Stunek, director of
marketing at Benjamin Forbes Chocolate, Cleveland. “The development
and marketing teams need to determine what level of dark chocolate use is
its going to push ingredient cost up to the point where the retail price
will become a barrier,”

Dark-chocolate milk is seeing the start of play in
flavored milk rotations, particularly for school lunch programs. Suppliers
are fielding requests for dark-chocolate smoothies and dark chocolate is
increasingly found in ice cream variegates or inclusions with high cocoa
solids content to boost antioxidants.

“Consumers’ palates are becoming more
sophisticated and they are looking more for different and exciting flavors,
while simultaneously looking for something indulgent that they can feel
better about eating,” Johnson says.

The cocoa ingredient production process is critical to
maintain antioxidants, from bean origin to fermentation to drying to
roasting to processes that lead to the finished chocolate product.
“Subtle process differences for milk and dark chocolates are needed
to maximize the polyphenol content of the finished ingredient,”
Benson says.

The actual level of beneficial antioxidants in
chocolate is not found in a “darkness” parameter; rather, its
the particular cocoa/chocolate liquor used that has the greatest polyphenol
content impact, he notes, citing Barry-Callebaut’s proprietary
chocolate-making process designed to retain efficacy of cocoa bean
polyphenols.

Meanwhile, in the dairy processing stage, be aware
that “antioxidants are somewhat effected by handling and environment
that they have,” says Blommer’s Potts, citing handling abuse
from heat processing. Formulation is also important to viability, as
evidence shows a favorable effect of sugar carbohydrates on cocoa
antioxidants’ functionality.

Flavor for Fortification

Culinary chocolate trends with a spicy edge are being
showcased by suppliers. While the mass market may not see a
chipotle-infused, nutritionally fortified ice cream in the near future,
experimentation with “ethnic” drinking chocolates with
antioxidant benefits is getting closer. “It’s not unusual to
see something like an ‘Aztec drinking chocolate’ —
essentially a decadent drinking chocolate that’s combined with spices
such as chili or cinnamon to give it a little edge,” Cargill’s
Johnson says.

Chocolate continues its role as a flavorsome pairing
with fortified products as well as those designed with simply taste in
mind. “We all know that chocolate is a great masker of flavors; with
vitamins and minerals added, the cocoa flavor helps with masking with
off-flavors that are associated with some of the nutrients,” Potts
says.

Nutritionally fortified and/or health-focused,
dairy-based products are likely to continue to monopolize product
development team efforts.

As overall consumer interest in functional dairy
products grows, potential exists for “functional chocolate”
concepts utilizing chocolates with higher than standard antioxidant levels,
Benson says. “Start with the best cocoa products possible to meet
flavor as well as nutritional targets,” he says.

Still Sweet

No- or low-sugar formulators have long known it
critical to find the appropriate cocoa for the type of sweetener and fat to
create pleasing taste profiles and a low glycemic count. “The gap
between the flavor profiles of entirely sugar-free and full-sugar products
is narrowing all the time,” Johnson says.

“The first generation of no- and low-sugar
products used polyols, which can have laxative effects, and, frankly, the
taste profiles were not matching the original targets,” Benson says.
“Second-generation reduced-sugar products are using fiber addition to
provide a positive benefit, and we are also finding the taste profiles are
greatly improved.”

Use of inulin is typically limited for flavor impact,
but cocoa adds to palatability, Blommer’s Potts notes. “You can
add more inulin sugar replacer at a higher level with a chocolate flavor
profile versus some other flavors.”

Supply & Demand

As the growing range of cocoa is essentially limited to
few miles on either side of the equator, cocoa supply is often sporadic.
The expected cocoa market deficit this year means tight supply and price
volatility will continue, with preliminary reports indicating expected
price increases, suppliers agree. Adding to supply challenges is war on the
Ivory Coast, one of the main cocoa growing areas, notes David
Michael’s Frank Calabro, confections-senior food technologist.

The emergence of single-origin and high cocoa solids
chocolate bars means the cocoa market is struggling to meet increased
demand for the fine cocoa grades utilized in dark chocolate. On the
positive side, new cocoa fields are in development in New Guinea, Australia
and Hawaii, Calabro notes.

Sourcing and pricing can raise hurdles to product
development, but chocolate flavorings can ensure both economics and
consistent taste profiles, suppliers agree. For instance, cost and supply
restraints on single-origin source cocoas have led to development of
chocolate flavorings to take the place of up to 30 percent of cocoa in a
formulation.

The worldwide organic chocolate market is growing
fast, albeit from a small base. Because only a handful of countries produce
substantial organic cocoa volume, there simply isn’t enough to go
around.

Suppliers remain diligent in efforts to continue to
grow the pool of organic chocolate products while serving market demands.
For instance, Parker Products produces several organic chocolate grinds for
ice cream manufacturers, and is creating organic cocoa inclusions such as
pralined cocoa nibs with an eye on tapping into the highest concentrations
of naturally occurring antioxidants.

Add ongoing demand from newly achieved critical mass,
purchases of niche organic players by large processors and the rollout of
Wal-Mart’s new organic milk line, and the sum is new expansion and
income opportunities for cocoa farmers with previously limited markets
— an outcome that satisfies world opinion as well as market demand.

Cathy Sivak is a freelance journalist and a former
editor of Dairy Field.

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